Postdoctoral Researcher Prospective Sustainability Assessment for Sustainable Hydrogen Production

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher to conduct a sustainability study of the MOF2H2 project funded by EU Horizon Europe.

Job Description
Project information
The MOF2H2 project aims to develop a world-record efficiency for sun-driven clean hydrogen production, reaching 5% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency, using metal-organic frameworks (MOF) as photocatalysts. MOF2H2 positions itself as a game changer to produce hydrogen from water through a more sustainable process: photocatalytic overall water splitting using non-noble materials. The decarbonization of several sectors (energy, transport, and carbon-intensive industries like steel or ammonia) depends on the availability of low-carbon hydrogen. However, current hydrogen production processes are mostly carbonated, and existing decarbonated processes suffer from several disadvantages (high costs, issues with coupling with intermittent electricity, etc.). MOF2H2 is funded by Horizon Europe.

As part of this project, Maastricht University aims to perform a comprehensive prospective Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA), and Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) to evaluate the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the MOF2H2 technology. This research will provide crucial insights into how this technology can be scaled up for future energy systems, ensuring that sustainability goals are met while contributing to a low-carbon economy.

To this end, MOF2H2 gathers 8 partners in 4 European countries, including some of the best researchers in the world in their fields, to demonstrate three lab-scale photocatalysis prototypes with fine-tuned materials dedicated to hydrogen production.

Tasks and Responsibilities :
As a postdoctoral researcher, you will:

• Perform sustainability analyses in collaboration with project partners, advancing methods for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and sustainability assessment of early-stage technology, and reporting results of impact assessments;
• Develop the Life Cycle Inventory for the LCA studies through data collection with external partners and collection of information in literature resources and databases;
• Develop the S-LCA study and TEA model for the project;
• Work with a scientific project team and university partners to develop and discuss research problems;
• Contribute to peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, conference contributions, and in-depth interactions with research and industrial partners on this topic;
• Provide teaching assistance and/or supervision within undergraduate and master’s projects and programs.

The postdoctoral researcher will work at the Sustainability of Chemicals and Materials Group of the Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus. You will become part of a vibrant multidisciplinary research group, specialised in the life cycle sustainability assessment of (emerging) biobased and circular chemical value chains. The postdoctoral research will be performed under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Yvonne van der Meer.

Requirements

• A highly motivated candidate
• A PhD degree in a pertinent field, such as chemical engineering or environmental sciences.
• Advanced knowledge and skills in LCA of complex systems with a proven track record of authoring high-quality scientific papers.
• Knowledge of chemicals and materials synthesis
• Excellent interpersonal skills to effectively and closely work with scientific team members, international project team members, PhDs, and BSc/MSc students
• Proven experience with publishing scientific work in refereed international scientific journals
• Proficiency in both written and spoken English.
• Demonstrated the ability to work efficiently and independently.

What we offer
As postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Science & Engineering, you will be employed by the most international university in the Netherlands, located in the beautiful city of Maastricht. In addition, we offer you:

• Good employment conditions. The position is graded in scale 11 according to UFO profile Researcher, with corresponding salary based on experience ranging from €4537,00 and €6209,00 gross per month (based on a full-time employment of 38 hours per week). In addition to the monthly salary, an 8.0% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus apply.
• An employment contract for a period of 12 months with a scope of 1.0 FTE. Upon a positive evaluation, an extension of the contract is possible.
• At Maastricht University, the well-being of our employees is of utmost importance, we offer flexible working hours and the possibility to work partly from home if the nature of your position allows it. You will receive a monthly commuting and internet allowance for this. If you work full-time, you will be entitled to 29 vacation days and 4 additional public holidays per year, namely carnival Monday, carnival Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day. If you choose to accumulate compensation hours, an additional 12 days will be added. Furthermore, you can personalize your employment conditions through a collective labor agreement (CAO) choice model.
• As Maastricht University, we offer various other excellent secondary employment conditions. These include a good pension scheme with the ABP and the opportunity for UM employees to participate in company fitness and make use of the extensive sports facilities that we also offer to our students.
• Last but certainly not least, we provide the space and facilities for your personal and professional development. We facilitate this by offering a wide range of training programs and supporting various well-established initiatives such as ‚acknowledge and appreciate‘.

Applying?
Are you already convinced and ready to become our new postdoctoral researcher? Apply now, no later than 19 March 2025, for this position.

In the case that no suitable candidates are found, Maastricht University reserves the right to re-open the vacancy.

Send in:

• A cover letter explaining your motivation and suitability for the position. For the suitability part, please refer to the requirements for this position and add a table with an explanation of to what extent you meet each requirement.
• A detailed Curriculum Vitae, including a list of publications and key achievements in research projects.
• Contact information for two references.

The vacancy is open for internal and external candidates. In case of equal qualifications, internal candidates will be prioritized.

Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.

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